Stuck in the Mud
by Yoruyonaka Sakusha
Summary: Yuki is stuck in the mud. Kyo helps. Ch1-K  no pairing. Ch2-M and yaoi.
1. Chapter 1

**This story has been sitting around for a while in my fanfiction folder... tell me what you think of it, because I honestly don't know. This chapter is non-yaoi, because I couldn't make it yaoi without making it slightly unbelievable... but I do have a yaoi version, if you all want me to post it as a second chapter.**

**Enjoy. :)**

"Godammit, Yuki!" Kyo snarled, thrusting himself away from the rat as he was struck over side of the head – again – none too gently. He sat back with a grimace, glaring daggers. "If you don't stop moving I can't do a damn thing!"

Defensively, Yuki kept his hands where they were, shielding himself from the now hostile cat.

"Stupid cat," he said calmly, though heat was flaring through the cold sweat he'd broken into, his arms shaking. "When I tell you to stop, _I mean it_."

"Apparently," Kyo muttered dryly. He raked back his wet hair from his forehead, flimsy white tank-top soaked through and muddy as his pants now were from sitting in the mud. He shifted himself off the rock he'd landed on and took a deep breath, trying to calm himself as he stared at the overreacting rat. The idiot would hardly let Kyo touch him, and distant rumbling in the sky told him that the downpour they'd just been hit by had a much nastier friend.

"Look," He growled, trying to be appeasing. "What do you expect me to do? It's gonna hurt no matter how it comes out."

Yuki's only response was to look away, more specifically down at his ankle, which was painfully wedged between the thick roots of the tree he had his back against. The echo of Kyo's last attempt to remove it throbbed up his leg. His own weight coupled with slippery mud and inappropriate shoes had been what got himself stuck, but it was going to take a little more than insistent tugging for the knobs of the roots to let go of their prize. Hard wood pressed against his bone in the most uncomfortable way, so even experimental shifting was too painful to loosen his foot from its entrapment.

With a hard sigh, he leant back and tried to relax a little, ignoring Kyo and turning his head up to stare at the trees over his head. Drips of water fell on his face, and it had probably started raining again, though the air was still thick with heat and unshed moisture. At least it wasn't pouring – that being the only thing he could be thankful of at the moment. He was totally soaked through and shivering, despite the flush of pain and Kyo's jacket hanging off him like a water-logged towel. They couldn't have been too far from home – Yuki's garden was a fair walk away, but they were halfway at least – yet they were obviously not going to get much help even if Tohru had trudged on ahead before the predicament. The wind was already stilling again, the clouds charged and heavy and _dark_ – no one would head out with such a storm bearing down, and even if _Tohru_ would, they could rely on Shigure to stop her.

All which left them rather stuck.

Grumbling at Yuki's lack of response, Kyo pulled himself back onto his knees and slipped his hands back against Yuki's mud sodden leg. Kyo's wrists were immediately caught in a deadly grip, sharp silver eyes accusing him of his earlier infraction.

"I'm not going to pull." Kyo snapped at him, refusing to acknowledge the ache Yuki was causing in his arms.

Reluctantly, Yuki slackened his hold, but kept his hands on Kyo's forearms in case he needed to wrench them away. Practically hissing with resentment, Kyo moved his fingers along Yuki's Achilles tendon, squeezing his hand between the roots to try and find any sort of vantage point he could use to get the roots to separate without luck. His shoe was already sort of off; they were the soft, bendable kind, completely unfit for walking around in the woods, and the heel of it was crushed beneath Yuki's heel. But hell – Yuki had gotten it lodged in there damn good, and the hard squeeze he got to his arm when he tried to get his fingers to the knob of Yuki's ankle was enough to tell him that it seriously hurt. On the other end, Kyo could only make it past Yuki's toes before the space got too tight.

Trying to concentrate on not hurting the rat – and getting himself hurt – Kyo pushed at the heel of the mud caked shoe, slowly working the material to slide away. Kyo had a few fingernail indents on his arm by the time it finally squelched away, but after a strangled yelp Yuki slumped back against the tree, breathing heavy.

"Better?" Kyo asked, taking his hands away for a few moments to smear the mud from his hands onto his pants.

Yuki gave a weak affirmation before pulling experimentally. He stiffened and stopped. "Barely," he revised. He had a little more room, but there was still no painless way out of this.

Almost as if to mock him, thunder rumbled, this time much closer. A breeze passed, full of warning, chilling down his neck where Kyo's jacket hung away.

Aware of Kyo watching him, Yuki sat up a little straighter and tried to pull his foot free by his own power. He clenched his eyes shut and gripped the mud, grinding it under his fingernails, but there was little give, and when there was, it suddenly slipped the bone of his ankle into a much worse position and he stopped with a barely suppressed cry.

"No," he snapped at Kyo when a hand curled under his heel. He pushed Kyo's arms away by the crooks of his elbows stubbornly.

"You have to let me," Kyo answered, his voice just as harsh. "I'm not sitting through a storm with you, idiot."

"Then _leave_."

Kyo stood, cursing loudly. Yuki had hit him again.

He stalked away, but not towards home like Yuki almost expected. Instead he stomped around, looking pissed off and raking his wet hair back from his face, pulling at the flimsy white tank top that stuck to his skin. All the while, the air kept feeling thicker and the wind kept picking up and the rumbling got louder and Yuki felt colder. Trying to ignore the cat's persistent pacing, Yuki made another effort to get loose. The most he could manage was a shaky pull, pain shooting through his muscle at the weak attempt. His leg had fallen asleep, as had his butt, from sitting on the hard ground, and had no strength to wrench himself free.

So he waited, setting his head back against the tree trunk with his eyes closed, shuffling the large jacket tighter around his body. After a few minutes, Yuki looked up to watch Kyo yank the tank top off himself in frustration and toss it with the two forgotten baskets of gathered veggies, sick of loosening it from around his neck. He sat in front of Yuki again, looking beyond irritated, pushing back the wet hair that'd fallen into his eyes. Yuki noticed the goosebumps standing out on his skin and reminded himself that Kyo had given him his coat and, more impressively, his _patience_. Something hard to come by with the short-fused feline.

"…It hurts," he confessed quietly, rather than apologizing.

Kyo looked away from him uncomfortably, his expression souring with empathy for his enemy. "I can do it quick," he muttered, easing forward. "It'll only hurt for a sec."

Yuki grimaced, because that was definitely a lie. There was still a walk home he'd have to deal with before getting any sort of pain killer to ease the torment. "Quick," he affirmed anyway.

Kyo nodded, bending warily over the rat's ankle just in case he changed his mind again. Kyo slipped his hands past mud-slicked skin, once more curling one beneath Yuki's heel, the other under the ball of his foot. This time he took care to make sure his grip was solid, braced and prepared to pull hard as he could. He had a feeling he wouldn't be forgiven again for slipping.

"Ready?" He asked, glancing up to check Yuki's expression, and paused when he saw just how pale he'd gotten. He actually looked a little green around the gills, mouth pressed into a grim line. "You're not gonna throw up, are you?"

Yuki swallowed hard, glaring at him. "I'm fine," he insisted. "Just do it."

Kyo returned the glare, but positioned his knees on either side of Yuki's ankle nonetheless, toes of his shoes digging into the ground. He twitched when the rat's hands rested on his shoulders, but focused on keeping his weight ready to transfer into his legs for the pull.

"On three then," Kyo said, tensing. Yuki tensed with him, holding his breath and keeping his eyes on the curve of Kyo's collar bone. _'Don't look_', he told himself, trying not to get psyched out "One…!"

With that, Kyo wrenched upward as hard as he could. Yuki's foot came loose with a sickening, bone-against-wood pop, Kyo's hands not slipping once.

Yuki let out a choked sound before he snapped his mouth shut, teeth gritting audibly in Kyo's ear, head dropping down onto his shoulder. There was silence, moments passing in which Kyo thought the rat may have forgotten to breathe. Then a heavy breath puffed against his bare skin. Yuki's chest heaved as he let out a pained groan.

"I thought," he huffed, barely keeping himself from strangling the boy he leant on. "You said '_on three_'."

"Yeah well," Kyo moved away, Yuki's head lifting to give him a half-hearted glare. "It worked, didn't it?"

u "Lucky for you… now – " Thunder cracked suddenly directly above them, making Yuki jump and let out a hiss of pain as he jerked his leg. Quickly following, a loud 'sshhhhh' flushed the air with white noise. Lightening lit the sky, flash-freezing thousands of fat drops mid-fall and making the two boys suddenly realize just how dark it had gotten.

"Wonderful," Kyo muttered, wilting. He stood and shivered, feeling the cold now that his energy was falling again. He reached out a hand to help Yuki up, almost falling over as the rat rose onto one foot and tipped into him.

Tentatively, Yuki put down his hurt leg, catching himself hurriedly when his ankle protested. He sighed angrily to himself, the nerves in his leg and butt prickling back to life doing nothing to make this situation any better.

"Can you walk?" Kyo asked, staying close so as to keep under the tree providing what little protection from the rain there was. He eyed the hard rain falling around them distastefully, but impatiently at the same time. He just wanted to get home and sleep.

"No," Yuki replied, hopping awkwardly on one foot to where the tree trunk could support him. He wondered if his ankle might be broken; it certainly hurt enough for it to be.

Wordlessly, Kyo moved in front of him and knelt down.

Yuki hesitated. "Are you sure you can-"

"Don't underestimate me, damn rat!" Kyo snapped, with effort. "Just get on."

"If you drop me…" Yuki trailed off in warning, leaning himself carefully over Kyo's bent back.

"You'll what? Hobble after me and teach me a lesson?" Yuki glared at the rust red head of hair in front of him, thankful, at least, that Kyo still had it in him to exchange insults. He muttered quiet threats, but was otherwise preoccupied as Kyo grabbed him behind the knees and stood. After stumbling briefly, Kyo hoisted Yuki's weight more easily onto his back and began walking towards home.

Yuki let himself rest fully against Kyo's back, arms loose around his shoulders. For a second time, he noticed the goosebumps standing up on his cousin's shirtless skin. He should have offered his coat back to him before they started off because, honestly, it wasn't doing too much for him right then. Rain drenched his hair, running freely down his back and down his shirt – _cold_ rain, the kind that hinted at a possible hail storm. Only his leg was hot, the pain in his ankle throbbing with renewed blood flow.

Kyo stumbled precariously a few times on the way home, but never tripped or dropped the boy on his back. Not surprisingly, the door was opened for them the second they appeared from the woods, Tohru rushing out with her umbrella to meet two boys.

"Kyo-kun! Yuki-kun! Are you two alright? What happened!" She cried, holding the umbrella up over them instead of herself and walking besides them.

"Idiot – don't give _us_ the umbrella!" Kyo snapped as Yuki pushed the handle back towards her. "We're fine. This damn rat just hurt his ankle."

Reluctantly, Tohru held the umbrella over herself, concern covering her features even as she nearly tripped, not watching where she was going.

"Honda-san, could you call Hatori please?" Yuki asked kindly before Kyo could snap at her again. The desired effect was achieved as Tohru jumped to attention immediately.

"Ah, of course!" She raced off back to the house, leaving the door open for them.

"Oh my," Shigure uttered when they finally made their way in. "What have you two been up to?"

They were quite the sight; Kyo, shirtless, with Yuki on his back in his oversized jacket, both of them soaked to the bone and covered with goosebumps. Yuki held his foot out at an awkward angle, swollen and cleaned of mud from the rain shower they'd walked through. Yuki was flushed, probably with a fever, and Kyo simply looked dead tired, like he'd fall over if he didn't sit in the next few minutes.

Shigure followed them as Yuki directed Kyo to enter the bath so they wouldn't drip all over the place. "Tohru-kun was starting to get frantic," he told them, helpfully standing aside while Kyo let Yuki off to sit on the edge of the tub. The cat grabbed two large towels from the shelf, tossing one at his cousin's face before joining him on the side of the bathtub. "She was about to call for a search party when you two appeared. Did you get into a fight?"

"Does it look like we did?" Yuki asked, offering up his leg as evidence as he rubbed his hair dry.

"Mm, I was wondering why you'd let Kyo-chan carry you," the dog commented, peering down at it.

Not sure if he should feel insulted or not, Kyo merely gave both of them an irritated glance as he wrapped the towel around his shoulders.

Tohru popped through the door then, looking over both boys as she delivered the news; "Hatori-san is on his way."

"Y-Y-Yuki-kun! Your ankle!" She exclaimed a second later, able to do nothing but flutter there uselessly.

"It's not as bad as it looks, Honda-san," Yuki lied, smiling. Both Kyo and Shigure raised an eyebrow at that; it was more than obvious to even Tohru that Yuki was in pain, but she was distracted when Kyo suddenly sneezed loudly into his white towel.

"The both of you should take a bath to warm up," she said firmly, letting Yuki's lie pass so she could help them in ways she was able to. Her diligent eyes didn't miss the way Kyo's teeth nearly chattered, or the way Yuki was huddled inside that water-logged jacket. "Mom always said a hot bath is the best after it rains."

Shigure nodded with approval as Tohru reached over to start the hot water before they could disagree. "The bath is big enough for the both of you – don't bother rinsing off, just get warm," he said. "I'll call for you when Haa-san arrives, Yuki-kun."

The door shut behind them firmly. The two boys sat for a few minutes, staring at the closed door as steam filled the room, before Kyo stood on wobbly legs to take off his pants. Fingers trembling with cold, Yuki unzipped Kyo's sweatshirt. The redhead was slipping into the filling bath before he'd finished unbuttoning his undershirt. His fingers were numb, and fumbled clumsily. He made a small noise of frustration, flexing them in attempt to get the blood flowing. He pulled at the buttons uselessly one more time before giving up and yanking the shirt over his head. His pants had to come off with a bit more care, guiding the pant leg carefully over his injured appendage.

The bath water was hot and cloudy with minerals. It stung as he lowered himself in opposite of Kyo, but he sunk into it gratefully. His skin rapidly heated up, soothing his ankle at the same time it burned his frozen feet and hands back to life.

Across from him, Kyo had his eyes closed, leaning back so he was up to his chin. His hair was wet, falling into his eyes and around his face, which still had a subtle smudge of dirt that colored it brown. He looked really tired, Yuki realized, probably more so than Yuki felt now that he was in the comforting heat of the tub.

Then bright orange eyes opened to look at him. Under hair dark from wetness, the shock of color made Yuki blink.

"Thank you," Yuki said.

Tamed by the weather outside, Kyo only grunted in response, leaning down further so his mouth dipped below the water. His eyes flicked briefly over Yuki's face before shutting again.

Yuki watched Kyo's breath make small ripples on the water's surface and waited to stop shivering.

**Want the yaoi version? Review. Also, if you catch any mistakes, go ahead and tell me... the formatting sometimes screws up when i copy-paste a story into an old document (does anyone else do that?).**


	2. Chapter 2

**The yaoi version, as promised however many years ago . I realize some people might have found the last chapter suggestive enough, because of the whole sharing a bath thing. But, if you didn't know, that's not too uncommon in Japan, and the bath at Shigure's house (for this story's purposes) is large enough that they wouldn't have to touch while sharing.**

**Anyway - I don't really like this much. It's not very realistic. At all. But people wanted it, so yeah.**

**Please note the rating change to M. It happened for a reason.**

* * *

"Godammit, Yuki!" Kyo snarled, thrusting himself away from the rat as he was struck over side of the head – again – none too gently. He sat back with a grimace, glaring daggers. "If you don't stop moving I can't do a damn thing!"

Defensively, Yuki kept his hands where they were, shielding himself from the now hostile cat.

"Stupid cat," he said calmly, though heat was flaring through the cold sweat he'd broken into, his arms shaking. "When I tell you to stop, _I mean it_."

"Apparently," Kyo muttered dryly. He raked back his wet hair from his forehead, flimsy white tank-top soaked through and muddy as his pants now were from sitting in the mud. He shifted himself off the rock he'd landed on and took a deep breath, trying to calm himself as he stared at the overreacting rat. The idiot would hardly let Kyo touch him, and distant rumbling in the sky told him that the downpour they'd just been hit by had a much nastier friend.

"Look," He growled, trying to be appeasing. "What do you expect me to do? It's gonna hurt no matter how it comes out."

Yuki's only response was to look away, more specifically down at his ankle, which was painfully wedged between the thick roots of the tree he had his back against. The echo of Kyo's last attempt to remove it throbbed up his leg. His own weight coupled with slippery mud and inappropriate shoes had been what got himself stuck, but it was going to take a little more than insistent tugging for the knobs of roots to let go of their prize. Hard wood pressed against his bone in the most uncomfortable way, so even experimental shifting was too painful to loosen his foot from its entrapment.

With a hard sigh, he leant back and tried to relax a little, ignoring Kyo and turning his head up to stare at the trees over his head. Drips of water fell on his face, and it had probably started raining again, though the air was still thick with heat and unshed moisture. At least it wasn't pouring – that being the only thing he could be thankful of at the moment. He was totally soaked through and shivering, despite the flush of pain and Kyo's jacket hanging off him like a water-logged towel. They couldn't have been too far from home – Yuki's garden was a fair walk away, but they were halfway at least – yet they were obviously not going to get much help even if Tohru had trudged on ahead before the predicament. The wind was already stilling again, the clouds charged and heavy and _dark_ – no one would head out with such a storm bearing down, and even if _Tohru_ would, they could rely on Shigure to stop her.

All which left them rather stuck.

Grumbling at Yuki's lack of response, Kyo pulled himself back onto his knees and slipped his hands back against Yuki's mud sodden leg. Kyo's wrists were immediately caught in a deadly grip, sharp silver eyes accusing him of his earlier infraction.

"I'm not going to pull." Kyo snapped at him, refusing to acknowledge the ache Yuki was causing in his arms.

Reluctantly, Yuki slackened his hold, but kept his hands on Kyo's forearms in case he needed to wrench them away. Practically hissing with resentment, Kyo moved his fingers along Yuki's Achilles tendon, squeezing his hand between the roots to try and find any sort of vantage point he could use to get the roots to separate without luck. His shoe was already sort of off; they were the soft, bendable kind, completely unfit for walking around in the woods, and the heel of it was crushed beneath Yuki's heel. But hell – Yuki had gotten it lodged in there damn good, and the hard squeeze he got to his arm when he tried to get his fingers to the knob of Yuki's ankle was enough to tell him that it seriously hurt. On the other end, Kyo could only make it past Yuki's toes before the space got too tight.

Trying to concentrate on not hurting the rat – and getting himself hurt – Kyo pushed at the heel of the mud caked shoe, slowly working the material to slide away. Kyo had a few fingernail indents on his arm by the time it finally squelched away, but after a strangled yelp Yuki slumped back against the tree, breathing heavy.

"Better?" Kyo asked, taking his hands away for a few moments to smear the mud from his hands onto his pants.

Yuki gave a weak affirmation before pulling experimentally. He stiffened and stopped. "Barely," he revised. He had a little more room, but there was still no painless way out of this.

Almost as if to mock him, thunder rumbled, this time much closer. A breeze passed, full of warning, chilling down his neck where Kyo's jacket hung away.

Aware of Kyo watching him, Yuki sat up a little straighter and tried to pull his foot free by his own power. He clenched his eyes shut and gripped the mud, grinding it under his fingernails, but there was little give, and when there was, it suddenly slipped the bone of his ankle into a much worse position and he stopped with a barely suppressed cry.

"No," he snapped at Kyo when a hand curled under his heel. He pushed Kyo's arms away by the crooks of his elbows stubbornly.

"You have to let me," Kyo answered, his voice just as harsh. "I'm not sitting through a storm with you, idiot."

"Then _leave_."

Kyo stood, cursing loudly. Yuki had hit him again.

He stalked away, but not towards home like Yuki almost expected. Instead he stomped around, looking pissed off and raking his wet hair back from his face, pulling at the flimsy white tank top that stuck to his skin. All the while, the air kept feeling thicker and the wind kept picking up and the rumbling got louder and Yuki felt colder. Trying to ignore the cat's persistent pacing, Yuki made another effort to get loose. The most he could manage was a shaky pull, pain shooting through his muscle at the weak attempt. His leg had fallen asleep, as had his butt, from sitting on the hard ground, and had no strength to wrench himself free.

So he waited, setting his head back against the tree trunk with his eyes closed, shuffling the large jacket tighter around his body. After a few minutes, Yuki looked up to watch Kyo yank the tank top off himself in frustration and toss it with the two forgotten baskets of gathered veggies, sick of loosening it from around his neck. He sat in front of Yuki again, looking beyond irritated, pushing back the wet hair that'd fallen into his eyes. Yuki noticed the goosebumps standing out on his skin and reminded himself that Kyo had given him his coat and, more impressively, his _patience_. Something hard to come by with the short-fused feline.

"…It hurts," he confessed quietly, rather than apologizing.

Kyo glanced away, feeling reluctant empathy. "You want a stick to bite?" He asked, only half-serious.

Yuki shot him a look, not amused in the least.

Sighing, Kyo shuffled forward a little. "Look, just… think of something else. Distract yourself."

"Right," Yuki growled, blocking Kyo's hands despite his resolve to be more helpful. "With what? The lovely scenery?"

Kyo was glowering again, pulling his wrists out of Yuki's grip. "Damn rat, what the hell do you expect me to do?"

"Why don't you _distract_ me?"

Sarcasm was inlaid heavily into his voice, more so than was probably necessary. This wasn't Kyo's fault. It was his own. He was being pathetic, and he knew it, and that only served to make him more frustrated. He didn't actually expect Kyo to do anything.

So he was startled when Kyo's face was suddenly right _there_, too close, eyes open.

Then closed.

He pushed away wildly, desperately keeping his leg still, but Kyo leaned closer and grabbed a fistful of his hair, pushing their mouths together. His muffled protests went ignored until Kyo withdrew momentarily. "Wh-wha-" He stuttered, eyes wide. Kyo wasn't moving, lips brushing against his as he spoke.

"Get distracted." Kyo growled, kissing him again, holding him still with one hand as his other traveled back down to his ankle. Resisting the urge to jerk his foot away, Yuki wedged a hand between their mouths and pressed Kyo's back.

The violent shock of Kyo's eyes stood out starkly against his own pale skin, and Yuki felt his mouth go dry.

Kyo released his hair, sliding both hands back into the mud.

Yuki jerked involuntarily and tried to recapture the red-head's hands, but they weren't budging this time, gripping his ankle, pulling when he pulled.

"Wait!" He snapped. "Waitwaitwait! Okay! Just…" He tugged Kyo closer by the shoulders nervously, eyes flicking uncontrollably between eyes that locked back on to his and slightly parted lips. "Distract me, then..."

Kyo tipped his head and slanted his mouth over Yuki's once more and was met without resistance. Still, the boy's hands were on his wrists, squeezing tight, and tensed shoulders were lifted defensively. Kyo was slow, waiting for Yuki to reciprocate and relax a bit. However, the rat made only cursory motions to return the kiss, all his body language directed attentively to the prospect of Kyo yanking his foot. Gently, Kyo opened his mouth to swipe his tongue over his cousin's lips, trying to engage him, but it had the opposite effect; Yuki pulled away quickly, startled. When Kyo leaned in to reconnect, he pulled back, turning his mouth away with a small noise of discomfort - he couldn't very well get away, since he was hunched over to grip Kyo's wrists, but the message was clear: _stop it_.

Kyo fought the urge to roll his eyes. The idiot was wound so damned tight.

So, he let go of the trapped foot, and waited for Yuki to hesitantly let him pull away to wipe his hands on his pants. It by no means cleaned them, since his pants by now were muddy and gross, just like the rest of him, but got rid of most of the excess globs. Ignoring Yuki's foot completely now, he moved in closer, pushing Yuki's other leg out of the way to make room for himself. This was going to take a little more than a little kissing, Kyo could see, and so decided to up the ante before the storm reached them and they were really screwed.

He leant in again, chasing Yuki back against the tree, and recaptured those lips. Without the immediate threat of being in pain, Yuki responded a little more readily, though reluctantly. Kyo didn't feel like coddling the rat, either - that approach obviously only made him more apprehensive, anyway, and so he pressed in hard. He introduced his teeth to Yuki's mouth this time, and forced it open, wasting no time in bringing their tongues together. Yuki was flinching and grimacing under the attention, and Kyo almost expected to be bitten, but wasn't. Yuki's hands had found his shoulders, and were applying unsteady pressure, as though unable to make up their mind on whether to push him away or not.

Yuki kept trying to pull his head back, but couldn't because it was up against the tree. He kept his eyes clenched shut, the harsh way Kyo was kissing him making weird shivers chase up his spine. Their tongues kept clashing, Kyo pressing his down and dragging over it, and Yuki didn't honestly know what to do. It was getting hot, at the same time cold, and the intensity here was a little overwhelming. He didn't pull away, though, until he suddenly felt a warm hand on his hip.

He turned his face away again, panting. "W-wait," he protested, but stopped as Kyo's breath right up against his ear made him arch forward, hard shudders stopping the words in his throat. Lips and teeth danced over his ear and trailed down his neck, and rather abruptly, this didn't seem like such a horrible idea. He stopped trying to hold Kyo back as much, letting him in closer, dropping a shoulder so Kyo could reach better, could have more room to suck and bite at the hollow of his collarbone. At the same time, fingers were squirming under the hem of his shirt, smoothing over his abdomen. Kyo's palm was warm, if a little grainy with dirt, as it circled his lower back, pressing against the curve of his spine. He let up a little more on Kyo's shoulders, not so much pushing as grabbing anymore.

Encouraged by the heavy breathing and crumbling defenses, Kyo inched nearer, Yuki's thigh pressing against his waist. He scraped his fingernails against Yuki's back, and was rewarded with another shudder. When he lifted from his work on Yuki's neck, the other found his mouth first, one hand sliding behind his head to pull him in and thread through his hair. Kyo moaned softly.

Things became hotter, Yuki responding to the sound with startling gusto. He made a loud noise in return, something between a whimper and grunt, kissing back harder and raking his fingers over Kyo's scalp. Kyo shifted closer again, his knees tucking neatly under Yuki's legs, up against his thighs. He swirled his tongue in Yuki's mouth, outright groaning now, shoving both hands up Yuki's shirt while one scrambled up against his chest, briefly passing over his muscles.

Yuki curved his back away from the tree, into Kyo's hands, and surprised Kyo by being the first one to slide his hand lower, pressing into the front of his pants and kneading when he found what he was looking for.

"Fuck," Kyo growled, his voice deep, and Yuki groaned in response. Kyo rolled his hips forward, and Yuki sat up straighter, looking for more contact, clutching and running his fingers over the back of Kyo's neck as the boy's tongue ran against his jaw, sucking and scraping his teeth at the soft, vulnerable skin beneath. He squirmed as Kyo's hands slid lower, elbow nudging his leg farther apart as he opened his fly, teased his exposed hipbones. He lingered there, rubbing his thumbs firmly over the tops of his hips, pushing into the muscles around them.

Yuki actually _whimpered_, twisting around desperately, though to get away or get closer was an internal battle. "_Kyo_," he hissed, grappling for better control, biting and scratching and shuddering as the same was done to him. Finally - _finally_ - Kyo's palm rubbed over the hard bulge in his pants, and Yuki arched hard into the touch. "Kyo," he repeated, voice strained, shuddering as Kyo yanked him closer by the waist so their lower halves were pressed together more firmly.

Kyo rolled down into him, and with a low moan Yuki dropped back against the ground so he had better leverage to thrust up in turn. Kyo followed him, pressing their mouths together again. It was hard to breathe, though, so Yuki opted instead for panting wetly against Kyo's neck. He groped at Kyo's chest, finding a nipple and squeezing, the way Kyo's shoulders curled towards him and shuddered impossibly hot. He rutted arrhythmically, frantic for more friction.

He protested when Kyo sat up, pulling away and leaning back, but stopped when Kyo pinned his hips and ground down so hard it hurt in the best kind of way. Yuki was going to lose it, could feel it in the pit of his stomach, his free leg clasping against Kyo's waist as the boy reached down and hooked an arm under his other, right under the knee, except that leg wasn't going anywhere, not unless-

With one hand still anchoring his hips to the ground, Kyo wrenched up and forward. Yuki's ankle popped free.

The pain ran up his leg, deep, bringing everything to a grinding halt. Black spots crept at the edge of his vision as Yuki grit his teeth together, pressing his hands against his eyes, holding himself rigid against the throbbing in his abused foot.

A minute later, he opened his eyes just as a loud 'sshhhhhhh' surrounded them in white noise, rain pouring down even under the tree's sheltering branches.

Kyo was still holding his leg up, so his ankle wouldn't touch the ground, and when Yuki turned his blurred gaze onto him, his head was raised to glare at the sky. Thunder rumbled, but quietly, and lightning barely lit the large raindrops in the process of thoroughly re-soaking the pair of them.

Kyo dropped his eyes back down to Yuki wearily when he lifted his leg, Kyo letting go and pausing. They were still kind of really close, on top of each other. Kyo flinched when Yuki wriggled experimentally.

Yuki regarded the other will a dull expression, feeling incredibly awkward, but speaking anyway; "You going to finish?"

The cat looked surprised, and Yuki was too, considering he was still aroused enough to keep going. He wiggled again, to emphasize this point. Kyo closed his eyes briefly, rainwater running down his face, along the curves of his chest, spilling over his shoulders and dripping from his hair, and Yuki decided it wasn't a question anymore. He hooked his good leg around Kyo's back and pulled him forward. The rain was obviously making Kyo tired, subdued, but the boy realigned their hips anyway and rolled down in a hard, slow circle.

Yuki picked up the slack, bucking up and using the back of his calf to pull Kyo down harder into him, more friction, more constant pressure. His hands slicked up Kyo's back, rounding his shoulders, tucking into his collarbone and slipping up into his hair and Kyo dropped his head to find his lips. He ground down hard again, the pleasure edging along pain, and they both groaned. Again, the sound drove sparks down Yuki's spine, and he scrambled for a better hold, rocking and pulling Kyo's hips down into his own urgently. Kyo had himself propped over Yuki, elbows to the ground, and began moving his hips more roughly downward, biting down on Yuki's shoulder, breathing against his ear.

Desperate, Yuki reached a hand between them. He shoved Kyo's pants down, lifting his hips and arching up onto his shoulder blades to get his pants out of the way, Kyo's long jacket protecting him from the ground when he lowered again. Their hips jerked, but Yuki managed to get a hand around them both, and his back arched _hard_ as Kyo thrust down into him, sliding in his hand, over his own dick, making his brain short-circuit and _shit_ he did it again, moaning right in his ear like that, growling and biting and making all sorts of wonderful noises that went due South, driving his hand to move harder, faster, tighter -

Yuki came first, shuddering and jerking with his eyes shut tight against Kyo's neck. He kept his hand moving frantically, riding through it, and when he was done, Kyo was still groaning in frustration against his ear, wordless demands coming from the hips that jerked against his stilled ones. He let himself go, and focused on Kyo, despite the way his limbs wanted to relax in post-coital bliss. It wasn't long before the cat was coming, the low hum he made enough to make his tired hips roll up one more time as arousal stirred in him again.

There wasn't much to clean up, not when the rain was turning downright _torrential_. Both boys merely had to sit back for a moment and let the rainwater wash away all remnants of their activities before redoing their pants. Kyo slid away carefully, so as not to jostle the boy practically still in his lap, and Yuki rocked up into a sitting position, keeping his injured ankle off the ground. He felt cold at the loss of body heat, and the pain throbbing up his leg felt a lot more prominent than it had a moment ago. He re-buttoned and re-zipped the jacket, not remembering when or how it had been undone in the first place, and took the hand Kyo offered when he made to get up. They both almost fell over as the rat rose onto one foot and tipped into him.

Tentatively, Yuki put down his hurt leg, catching himself hurriedly when his ankle protested severely.

"Can you walk?" Kyo asked, staying close so as to keep under the tree providing what little protection from the rain there was. He eyed the hard rain falling around them distastefully, obviously exhausted. Maybe they would end up staying there a little longer after all.

"No," Yuki replied, hopping awkwardly on one foot to where the tree trunk could support him. He wondered if his ankle might be broken; it certainly hurt enough for it to be.

Wordlessly, Kyo moved in front of him and knelt down.

Yuki hesitated. "Are you sure you can-"

"Don't underestimate me, damn rat!" Kyo snapped, with effort. "Just get on."

"If you drop me…" Yuki trailed off in warning, leaning himself carefully over Kyo's bent back.

"You'll what? Hobble after me and teach me a lesson?" Yuki glared at the rust red head of hair in front of him, thankful, at least, that Kyo still had it in him to exchange insults. He muttered quiet threats, but was otherwise preoccupied as Kyo grabbed him behind the knees and stood. After stumbling briefly, Kyo hoisted Yuki's weight more easily onto his back and began walking towards home.

Yuki let himself rest against Kyo's back, arms loose around his shoulders. For a second time, he noticed the goosebumps standing up on his cousin's shirtless skin. He should have offered his coat back to him before they started off because, honestly, it wasn't doing too much for him right then. Rain drenched his hair, running freely down his back and down his shirt – _cold_ rain, the kind that hinted at a possible hail storm. Only his leg was hot, the pain in his ankle throbbing with renewed blood flow. That, and his chest pressed firmly into Kyo's back, warm shoulders and muscles working to hold him up as they walked.

Kyo stumbled precariously a few times on the way home, but never tripped or dropped the boy on his back. Not surprisingly, the door was opened for them the second they appeared from the woods, Tohru rushing out with her umbrella to meet two boys.

"Kyo-kun! Yuki-kun! Are you two alright? What happened!" She cried, holding the umbrella up over them instead of herself and walking besides them.

"Idiot – don't give _us_ the umbrella!" Kyo snapped as Yuki pushed the handle back towards her. "We're fine. This damn rat just hurt his ankle."

Reluctantly, Tohru held the umbrella over herself, concern covering her features even as she nearly tripped, not watching where she was going.

"Honda-san, could you call Hatori please?" Yuki asked kindly before Kyo could snap at her again. The desired effect was achieved as Tohru jumped to attention immediately.

"Ah, of course!" She raced off back to the house, leaving the door open for them.

"Oh my," Shigure uttered when they finally made their way in. "What have you two been up to?"

They were quite the sight; Kyo, shirtless, with Yuki on his back in his oversized jacket, both of them soaked to the bone and covered with goosebumps. Yuki held his foot out at an awkward angle, swollen and cleaned of mud from the rain shower they'd walked through. Yuki was flushed, probably with a fever, and Kyo simply looked dead tired, like he'd fall over if he didn't sit in the next few minutes.

Shigure followed them as Yuki directed Kyo to enter the bath so they wouldn't drip all over the place. "Tohru-kun was starting to get frantic," he told them, helpfully standing aside while Kyo let Yuki off to sit on the edge of the tub. The cat grabbed two large towels from the shelf, tossing one at his cousin's face before joining him on the side of the bathtub. "She was about to call for a search party when you two appeared. Did you get into a fight?"

"Does it look like we did?" Yuki asked, offering up his leg as evidence as he rubbed his hair dry.

"Mm, I was wondering why you'd let Kyo-chan carry you," the dog commented, peering down at it.

Not sure if he should feel insulted or not, Kyo merely gave both of them an irritated glance as he wrapped the towel around his shoulders.

Tohru popped through the door then, looking over both boys as she delivered the news; "Hatori-san is on his way."

"Y-Y-Yuki-kun! Your ankle!" She exclaimed a second later, able to do nothing but flutter there uselessly.

"It's not as bad as it looks, Honda-san," Yuki lied, smiling. Both Kyo and Shigure raised an eyebrow at that; it was more than obvious to even Tohru that Yuki was in pain, but she was distracted when Kyo suddenly sneezed loudly into his white towel.

"The both of you should take a bath to warm up," she said firmly, letting Yuki's lie pass so she could help them in ways she was able to. Her diligent eyes didn't miss the way Kyo's teeth nearly chattered, or the way Yuki was huddled inside that water-logged jacket. "Mom always said a hot bath is the best after it rains."

Shigure nodded with approval as Tohru reached over to start the hot water before they could disagree. "The bath is big enough for the both of you – don't bother rinsing off, just get warm," he said. "I'll call for you when Haa-san arrives, Yuki-kun."

The door shut behind them firmly. The two boys sat for a few minutes, staring at the closed door as steam filled the room, before Kyo stood on wobbly legs to unbutton his pants for the second time that day in front of his cousin. Fingers trembling with cold, Yuki unzipped Kyo's jacket. The redhead was slipping into the filling bath before he'd finished unbuttoning his undershirt. His fingers were numb, and fumbled clumsily. He made a small noise of frustration, flexing them in attempt to get the blood flowing. He pulled at the buttons uselessly one more time before giving up and yanking the shirt over his head. His pants had to come off with a bit more care, guiding the pant leg carefully over his injured appendage.

The bath water was hot and cloudy with minerals. It stung as he lowered himself in opposite of Kyo, but he sunk into it gratefully. His skin rapidly heated up, soothing his ankle at the same time it burned his frozen feet and hands back to life.

Across from him, Kyo had his eyes closed, leaning back so he was up to his chin. His hair was wet, falling into his eyes and around his face, which still had a subtle smudge of dirt that colored it brown, and looking, Yuki felt another gentle surge of heat hit him. Kyo was exotic looking when he was wet, and that thought made his face heat up subtly beneath the flush already there.

Then bright orange eyes opened to look at him. Under hair dark from wetness, the shock of color again made Yuki blink. He swallowed, holding the gaze carefully.

"Thank you," he said quietly, feeling a spark at the way Kyo's eyes narrowed at him.

Kyo only grunted in response, too tired to wonder over what, exactly, he was being thanked for, leaning down further so his mouth dipped below the water. His eyes flicked briefly over Yuki's face before shutting again.

Yuki watched Kyo's breath make small ripples on the water's surface and waited for Hatori to arrive.


End file.
